Auburn, Ala. - Clarisse Moh, a sophomore from Paris, showed off at the Auburn Invitational on Saturday, by qualifying for the Mideast Regional Championships in the 400m and 800m. She is the second Lady Jaguar to surpass the Regional standards in two individual events. Junior Ajoke Odumosu qualified in the 400m and 400m hurdles. Both are members of the 4x400m relay that qualified at the Texas Relays, along with Nicole Knox and Courtney Golston.
Moh ran 54.60 in the 400m, finishing third. It was her first race over the one lap distance this outdoor season. About an hour later she turned in a third place performance in the 800m, clocking a time of 2:09.10. Moh was the top collegian in the race, finishing behind for NCAA champion and Mississippi State star Tiffany McWilliams (2:04.91), running for adidas, and Bobbette Stewart (2:08.70), running unattached.
Odumosu broke her own school record in the 400m by .15sec, with a second place time of 53.30. She also had a short turnaround and finished third in the 400m hurdles (58.09). The junior pulled off this double, with a similar tight time span, at the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships as a freshman, setting a meet record in the hurdles.
The women's 4x400m relay team scored an impressive second place, improving their Regional qualifying time to 3:41.61. Odumosu, Moh, Nicole Knox, and Courtney Golston, finished as the top collegiate team behind only the Pauline Davis Track Club (3:30.41) which was lead by Olympic 4x400m Gold Medalist Monique Hennagan.
Also on the women's side, Erin Kinnear and Emily Sawyer took a 1-2 finish in the pole vault, both clearing 1.50m (11' 5.75"). The mark for Sawyer, who was a standout at McGill-Toolen last year, is a collegiate best. Lillian Ajok and Cassandra Perkins snared personal best times of 2:14.87 and 2:19.62, respectively, in the 800m, as did Melissa Womble in the 1500m (5:42.27).
The men's team had an impressive day as well. Fresh off last weekend's second-fastest mile run in the country (4:00.60), Vincent Rono notched a school record and a Regional qualifying time of 1:48.00 in the 800m. Rono also has a qualifying time in 1500m. Stephen Larubi, who broke the late David Kimani's record for two laps earlier this season, finished third on Saturday in 1:50.14.
Senior Kwesi Byrd finished second in the 100m, with a time of 10.68. It was the Oakland, Calif. native's best time since 2004 when he ran 10.46. Also on the track, Tonny Okello finished second in the 1500m (3:47.78).
In the field, Thomas Fowlkes (4.75m/15' 7") was third in the pole vault, while freshman Kendrell Bonner (4.45m/14' 7.25") set a new personal best placing 10th in the event.
The Jags will have two weekends off before traveling to Lafayette, La. for the SBC Outdoor Champsionships which run May 12-14.
Outdoor Track and Field Schedule
May 12-14 - Sun Belt Conference Championships
May 26-27 - NCAA Regional
June 6-10 - NCAA Championships
